The HP EliteBook 1040 G9 finally goes to 16:10 with Intel 12th Gen CPUs
With a taller display, optional 5G, and 12th Gen Intel processors, HP’s top-tier business laptop is ready for 2022.
When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works.
What you need to know
HP’s signature business clamshell laptop, the EliteBook 1040 G9, is getting a much-needed refresh for CES 2022 (see ourreview of the G7).
Featuring Intel’s latest12th Gen mobile processors, optional 5G, and up to a whopping 64GB of RAM (that is user upgradeable), this top-tier laptop has everything for the mobile executive who only wants the best.
The EliteBook 14040 G9 finally drops the too cramped 16:9 aspect and opts for the increasingly mainstream (and taller) 16:10. Resolution is fixed at 1920x1200 to maximize battery life with options for ultra-low power 250 nit display, 400 nits, or the premium version with HP’s Surve View Reflect privacy technology, which hits 1,000 nits. All are non-touch except for the 250 nit model.
Port are just the important ones, including a couple of Type-A, Type-C with Thunderbolt 4, HDMI, headphone/mic, and nano-SIM slot. That SIM slot is for the optional 4G LTE or 5G modems that can be configured. Likewise, HP lets you tack on Tile (to track the laptop) and NFC for smartcards.
Audio should be good, too, with quad speakers with discrete amplifiers at 73dB.
While HP’s premier Dragonfly Max laptop had a 5MP camera, HP is now expanding that to all its premium devices, including the 1040 G9. Moreover, it has separated out the infrared (IR) camera (used for Windows Hello) from the RGB one (the webcam), which results in higher fidelity and a cleaner image. Previous cameras combined both IR and RGB into one with around 20% loss in pixels due to the IR technology.
HP also boasts that the EliteBook 1040 G9 “is at least 30% post-consumer recycled plastic in the bezel, at least 50% post-consumer recycled plastic in the keycaps, and the outer box packaging is 100% sustainably sourced.”
Get the Windows Central Newsletter
All the latest news, reviews, and guides for Windows and Xbox diehards.
And if traditional clamshell laptops are not your thing, fret not as HP offers the same laptop as the x360 EliteBook 1040 G9 with touch, pen support, and a 360-hinge.
The HP EliteBook 1040 G9 and HP EliteBook 1040 G9 are expected to be available in March. Pricing will be available closer to product availability, though traditionally, this laptop starts near the $2,000 mark.
Check out our other recommendations forbest business laptopfor more ideas.
Daniel Rubino is the Editor-in-chief of Windows Central. He is also the head reviewer,podcast co-host, and analyst. He has been covering Microsoft since 2007, when this site was called WMExperts (and later Windows Phone Central). His interests include Windows, laptops, next-gen computing, and watches. He has been reviewing laptops since 2015 and is particularly fond of 2-in-1 convertibles, ARM processors, new form factors, and thin-and-light PCs. Before all this tech stuff, he worked on a Ph.D. in linguistics, watched people sleep (for medical purposes!), and ran the projectors at movie theaters because it was fun.
